Manitoba Election: Rights Forum

Although the reporter notes the concentration on the two main parties he himself has nothing to say about the substance of the communist's platform and little to say about the positive policy of the green candidate either. Apparently there were just 60 people present. Tuxedo by the way is a rich consituency on the whole.


May 16, 2007
Rights Forum asks candidates to address poverty
Filed under: Anti-poverty, Social Assistance, Housing, Environment — ccpamb @ 4:17 pm
The “Claiming Social, Economic and Environmental Rights” Forum, organized by a coalition of community groups at the University of Winnipeg May 15th, gave voters a chance to ask parties where they stand on poverty and environmental issues.

Represented at the forum:
Christine Bennet-Clark, the Green Party candidate in River Heights
James Johnston, the Liberal Party candidate for Springfield
Gord Mackintosh, the New Democratic Party incumbent for St. Johns and Minister of Family Services and Housing
Darrell Rankin, Communist Party candidate in Point Douglas
Heather Stefanson, the Progressive Conservative incumbent for Tuxedo and Education, Citizenship and Youth critic

Moderator Marlo Campbell, known to Uptown Magazine and Winnipeg Free Press readers, asked eight questions provided by 15 groups that organized the forum. The questions covered poverty reduction, community economic development, post-secondary education, tax policy, child care, food security, housing and urban policy. Approximately 60 people attended the lively forum.

All five parties were represented, so score one for democracy. But like the election, the focus was on Progressive Conservative and New Democratic candidates. True to Manitoba politics, no other parties could spare an incumbent for a public forum.

Darrell Rankin, a Communist as plain and earnest as all politicians should be, admitted his party would not form the next government. The Green Christine Bennet-Clark admitted she had idealistic ideas, yet passed on a question about taxing non-renewable resource use.

For the Liberals, James Johnston, like a considerate fence-sitter, often nodded along with other candidates’ answers. Give him your vote if getting to the point matters - he answered every question within the two minutes allotted.

Given the forum’s theme of social rights it was curious there was no representation from Progressive Conservative candidates in the inner-city. But, to paraphrase Heather Stefanson, the poor have a lot to gain from the folks in her Tuxedo riding.

She talked about giving all Manitobans a hand up to self-reliance, and about how tax cuts leave more money for consumers and investors to stimulate the economy, which benefits everyone. As a corollary, a few times she reiterated her party’s pledge to take 12,000 low-income Manitobans off the provincial tax roll.

On a question about guaranteeing 1,500 units of subsidized housing over five years, Stefanson first reminded the audience of how private developers have to be involved before she gave a warning about safety issues facing tenants in current subsidized housing. “I know seniors afraid to leave their homes,” she said, without making a commitment.

Touting the NDP record, Mackintosh listed relevant programs and their related numbers with ease, backed by the NDP’s work as ruling party for two terms since 1999. Answering the question on urban policy, Mackintosh tried to explain Waverly West not as urban sprawl, but as a curb to “ex-urban sprawl”. Then he gave the NDP credit for doubling house prices in the Spence Street neighborhood, despite a housing market bubble affecting every street on the continent.

Mackintosh also frequently gave credit to his own department’s “Rewarding Work” program, announced in April, just in time for the election. Among other things, the plan potentially gives low-income families $430 per child per year and adds an “incentives and skills package” for people “working their way off welfare.”

Chances are Mackintosh will be re-elected and continue as Minister of Family Services and Housing. Let’s make sure he makes progress on his promises before the next election call.

- Ian Tizzard